Facts in News

Facts in News

Indira Gandhi Canal

• Previously known as the Rajasthan Canal, it was renamed the Indira Gandhi Canal on 2^nd November 1984. 
• The country’s longest canal terminates in irrigation facilities in the Thar desert.
• Origin: Harike barrage, Punjab at the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers.
  • From Harike, 204 km long Feeder off-takes and enters in Rajasthan at Hanumangarh. 
  • From the tail of Feeder, 445 km long main canal starts which passes through Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner and ends at Mohangarh in Jaisalmer.
• The Project was envisaged for utilization of 7.59 MAF water out of Rajasthan’s share in surplus water of Ravi-Beas rivers.
• Objective: To meet drinking and irrigation needs of 1.75 crore people as well as numerous cattle, Army cantonment along the International Border and industrial usage in the border districts.
• Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) System: It has been installed for effective control on water regulation and distribution in canals through latest techniques.
• Benefits
  • Annual irrigation in otherwise dry region.
  • Regular supply of drinking water to villages, towns and cities of Bikaner, Jodhpur, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Churu, Nagaur and Barmer.
  • Supply of water for power generation.
  • Elimination of drought conditions.
  • Rise in ground water table.
  • Remarkable improvement in socio-economic conditions of the people and increase in all economic activities.

(Image Courtesy: NROER)

Biotech KISAN Programme

• Biotech-KISAN is a scientist-farmer partnership scheme launched in 2017 for agriculture innovation.
• Aim: To connect science laboratories with the farmers to find out innovative solutions and technologies to be applied at farm level.
• Developed by: DBT, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• The pan-India programme follows a hub-and-spoke model and stimulates entrepreneurship and innovation in farmers.
• Best global farm management and practices are brought to farmers’ notice.
• The Special Call aims to understand the local problems of the NER farmers and provide scientific solutions to those problems.
  • 70 per cent of the workforce in NER is engaged in agriculture, yet it produces only 1.5 per cent of the country’s food grain and imports food grains.
  • The NER has untapped potential to enhance the income by promotion of location specific crops, horticultural and plantation crops, fisheries and livestock production.
• The Biotech-KISAN in NER will link innovative agriculture technologies to the farm with the small and marginal farmers, specially women farmers of the region.

Turbidity Current

(Image Courtesy: BBC)

• A turbidity current is a rapid, downhill flow of sediment-laden water that occurs in lakes and oceans.
  • Turbidity is a measure of the level of particles such as sediment, plankton, or organic by-products, in a body of water.
  • As the turbidity of water increases, it becomes denser and less clear due to a higher concentration of these light-blocking particles.
• Causes
  • Turbidity currents can be set into motion when mud and sand on the continental shelf are loosened by earthquakes, collapsing slopes, and other geological disturbances.
  • The turbid water then rushes downward like an avalanche, picking up sediment and increasing in speed as it flows.
• Impact
  • These can change the physical shape of the seafloor by eroding large areas and creating underwater canyons.
  • These currents also deposit huge amounts of sediment wherever they flow, usually in a gradient or fan pattern, with the largest particles at the bottom and the smallest ones on top.
• Measurement and Tracking
  • Current meters, attached with turbidity sensors, are used to gather data near underwater volcanoes and other highly active geological sites.
  • Satellite imagery is used to observe turbidity by measuring the amount of light that is reflected by a section of water.

(Image Courtesy: NOAA)

Nipah Virus

• The Indian Council of Medical Research- National Institute of Virology has picked up samples with the presence of antibodies against the Nipah virus in some bat species from a cave in Mahabaleshwar to study the prevalence of Nipah virus (NiV) in bats of India.

Nipah virus (NiV)

• It is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
• Presumably, the first incidence of Nipah virus infection occurred when pigs in Malaysian farms came in contact with the bats who had lost their habitats due to deforestation.
• The infection is also known to affect human beings. 
  • The organism which causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.

• The case fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%. This rate can vary by outbreak depending on local capabilities for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management.

Transmission

• The disease spreads through fruit bats or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses. 
• The virus is present in bat urine and potentially, bat faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids. 
• Human-to-human transmission of Nipah virus has also been reported among family and caregivers of infected patients.

Symptoms

•  In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis. 
• The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.  

Past Outbreaks 

• Nipah virus was first recognized in 1999 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia. No new outbreaks have been reported in Malaysia since 1999. 
• It was also recognized in Bangladesh in 2001, and nearly annual outbreaks have occurred in that country since. The disease has also been identified periodically in eastern India.

Treatment

• There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection although WHO has identified Nipah as a priority disease for the WHO Research and Development Blueprint.  
• Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.

Image Courtesy: WHO

All India House Price Index

• Reserve Bank of India has released its quarterly House Price Index (HPI) (base: 2010-11=100) for Q4:2020-21, based on transaction-level data received from housing registration authorities in ten major cities (viz., Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai). 
• All-India HPI increased (year -on-year basis) by 2.7% in Q4:2020-21 vis-a-vis 3.9% growth a year ago.
• HPI growth showed large variation across major cities, from an increase of 15.7% (Bengaluru) to a contraction of -3.6% (Jaipur). 
• On a sequential (q-o-q) basis, all-India HPI growth rate moderated to 0.2% in Q4:2020-21; Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Jaipur recorded a sequential decline in HPI, whereas it increased for other cities

Gain-of-Function Research

• The Wuhan Institute of Virology was said to have conducted gain-of-function research on coronaviruses.
• In virology, gain-of-function research involves deliberately altering an organism in the lab, altering a gene, or introducing a mutation in a pathogen to study its transmissibility, virulence and immunogenicity.

•  It is believed that this allows researchers to study potential therapies, vaccine possibilities and ways to control the disease better in future. 
• Gain-of-function research involves manipulations that make certain pathogenic microbes more deadly or more transmissible. 
• This is done by genetically engineering the virus and by allowing them to grow in different growth mediums, a technique called serial passage.
  • There is also ‘loss-of-function’ research, which involves inactivating mutations, resulting in a significant loss of original function, or no function to the pathogen. 
  • When mutations occur, they alter the structure of the virus that is being studied, resulting in altered functions. 
  • Some of these significant mutations might weaken the virus or enhance its function.
• Some forms of gain-of-function research reportedly carry inherent biosafety and biosecurity risks and are thus referred to as ‘dual-use research of concern’ (DURC). 
  • This indicates that while the research may result in benefits for humanity, there is also the potential to cause harm — accidental or deliberate escape of these altered pathogens from labs may even cause pandemics.

Situation in India

• In India, all activities related to genetically engineered organisms or cells and hazardous microorganisms and products are regulated as per the “Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells Rules, 1989”. 
• Last year 2020 , the Department of Biotechnology issued guidelines for the establishment of containment facilities, called ‘Biosafety labs’, at levels two and three. 
  • The notification provides operational guidance on the containment of biohazards and levels of biosafety that all institutions involved in research, development and handling of these microorganisms must comply with.